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https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/15/as-columbia-folds-harvard-shows-what-institutional-courage-looks-like/>
"The first few months of the Trump administration have seen a quick divergence
between those who are quick to bend the knee to unconstitutional,
authoritarian, censorial demands from Donald Trump, and those with the spine to
actually stand up and say “fuck that.”
While it’s important to call out and shame those who cave, it’s equally crucial
to highlight institutions willing to take a principled stand. What’s unfolding
now at Harvard isn’t just about one university’s funding or academic policies —
it’s a critical test case for whether America’s institutions can withstand
direct governmental attempts to control speech and thought. The precedent being
set will determine whether universities remain independent centers of learning
and research, or become extensions of whatever administration holds power. This
week, Harvard University has demonstrated what institutional courage looks like
in the face of escalating threats from the Trump administration.
Donald Trump’s assault on free speech and the independence of private entities
continues apace. The administration has been on something of an authoritarian
tour across the country, spanning multiple verticals, in which the main goal
appears to simply be to exert as much power as possible, breaking both norms
and institutional safeguards with wild abandon.
Trump and his cadre of minions have been playing language games all along in
this endeavor, attempting to redefine free speech as only applicable to speech
Trump likes, exposing journalists and their sources to danger, punishing
university students for exercising their speech rights, and coercing law firms
into “good behavior” by withholding security clearances if the firms have or do
take any actions the administration doesn’t like.
It’s hard to overstate just how wildly dangerous this all is, nor how
infuriating it is to watch so many of these victims bend the knee rather than
fight what is undeniably a battle worth waging. What’s at stake is nothing less
than the independence of American institutions. The administration is currently
using federal education and research grants like the sword of Damocles,
insisting that schools fall in line or risk losing government money that powers
all kinds of valuable, important research. But as Columbia University recently
learned, there is never a “last ask” from a strongman and the sword never rises
beyond an inch from the neck. Giving in only propels the next demand. And then
the next. And the next.
The Trump administration recently made all kinds of demands of Harvard, a
bizarre mix of demands to end diversity in some places, but mandate it in
others, while making other demands that would essentially amount to the school
caving to Trump. The demands represent an unprecedented level of government
interference in a private institution. No more DEI initiatives for admissions
or hiring. A requirement that data over such things be shared out freely with
the federal government. Punishment for any students or groups deemed by the
government to be “antisemitic.” And a overhaul of international admissions such
that candidates are to be screened out if they have any “anti-American”
viewpoints."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
